AboutTom Houser Expertise I can answer any type of volleyball question: school, college, club, coaching, playing, etc. (I am not, however, a athletic trainer! haha)
Experience 23 years coaching varsity, JV, club.
You can see all about me at www.coachhouser.com There are also free downloads for coaches & parents, and hundreds of smiling faces for you volleyball players!
Publications www.active.com
www.yesIcansports.com
Education/Credentials BS degree from Va Tech in Math Education. MS degree from Va Tech in Secondary Administration. 28 years teaching high school math!
The Picture! The picture that you see is my team after winning the 52-team Capitol Hill Classic in February 2008 in Washington DC. We were the only undefeated team in the 15's division. However, they presented our awards to the team that won the SILVER division! haha So the tournament directors had to reorder our medals and our player's MVP trophy, then mail them all to us later!
Expert: Tom Houser Date: 8/16/2008 Subject: Putting my hands together - drill?
Question QUESTION: Hi, I'm not a professional player, however i have a passion for the game and I strive on getting better and better...so here's my problem. My upper torso is a bit wide so when i put my hands together to pass a serve/dig there is a hole between them no matter how much I try to put them together....most times it doesn't affect my pass because I'm used to it, but sometimes it does...so I'd be glad if someone share a drill or a technique for fixing this problem! Thanks!
ANSWER: Good morning, and thank you for visiting www.allexperts.com.
You have an issue that 1% of all females and 5% of all male volleyball players have. It's either a wide torso, or short forearms, or different shaped bones in the arms, or something that makes their arms look like the ball can nearly pass between their elbows.
And I have no solution for your situation. I never have. I train a Roanoke girl on Saturday afternoons. I keep reminding her to squeeze her elbows tight, and she'll say, "I'm trying." I'll say, "Try harder!" haha
Of course, on the other hand, 100% of vball players will experience a ball that hits off of one arm. That's normal and may not even be b/c of your inability to squeeze your elbows together. So don't over analyze that. It happens to us all.
Just keep squeezing, keep playing and keep having fun!
By the way, that girl I mentioned earlier is being recruited by several college coaches as a libero! She's already visited a college in Ohio, has already been accepted, and is making plans on attending and playing there. Pretty cool! Her passing looks odd, but it sure is effective!
Thanks again. Please visit me sometime at www.coachhouser.com. Have a great weekend.
Coach Houser
Roanoke, VA
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you very much Coach Houser! I'll try really hard to improve my game(yes, im gonna squeeze:D ).I played libero in my highschool team and this problem caused me some inaccurate passes. However, im going to university in a month and really hope making the team! Thanks a lot and wish me luck :)
Answer After I sent my answer, I reread your first comments. Did I answer your question correctly? I assumed you meant your elbows wouldn't squeeze together enough, but when I re-read, I discovered that you never really said that.
You may not be able to respond to me on this site until tomorrow (I have a 2 question limit per day), so if you want to chat some more today, you can email me today -- or anytime -- at coachhouser@yahoo.com.
Are you in the USA? Where will you be attending college?
